(sometimes) I'm A Nice Mother!

Of course, you are probably aware the UTA Frontrunner officially opened on Saturday, but for weeks my kids have watched it from ballgames, the park, driving etc. taking its practice rides, plus they learned all about it at a school assembly. All this hype and attention about the train (if I didn't have kids it probably would have gone unnoticed to me!), had my kids anxious to ride it. One of the stops is just a few miles from our house, so on Monday night for FHE we went to ride the Frontrunner. Well, every other family in the STATE OF UTAH must have had that same idea-needless to say, we didn't ride it and thus had 4 (well only 3 cared about the train-the other was just plain cranky) very disappointed kids. Coldstone ice cream was a very small consolation. So, being the nice mother that I sometimes am, I picked Megan up from school on Tuesday, and we went straight to ride the train, having been told that would be an "off-peak" time. We waited and waited, and waited some more. (Someone had decided to have a "medical condition" on the third day of service backing up all south-bound trains!!!!!!) Megan, Luke and Ellie all wanted to keep waiting (if Joshua could speak he would have disagreed!) We boarded the 3:53pm train at 4:57pm!!! My kids loved it. So, the reason I am including this in my blog is because I plan to have our blog made into a book at the end of the year and I want it forever etched in the Sowby Family History that SOMETIMES I am a nice mother!

Megan-Our First-Born Achiever

The other night Megan was honored at West Bountiful Elementary's Night of Recognition. She was honored for three separate achievements; being in the top ten percent NATIONALLY for language and science (IOWA Test), being able to type 40 words per minute (a 6th grade requirement, not 3rd!), and was awarded a silver medal (2nd highest in her class) for reading the most books/AR points. Way to go Megan. We are very proud of her. When Megan was 4 years old, I came home from Young Women's one night, and Mike and Megan were so proud to show me that she could read. Sure enough she could! She began to read at a young age (99% credit goes to Mike), and she has loved it ever since. Keep up the good work Megan!

(almost) 11 Years To The Day!

Mike's brother Rob, was married in the Mount Timpanogos temple on Saturday, April 26th. Mike and I were married April 24th, 1997 in the Mount Timpanogos temple. Of course we no longer live in American Fork, and therefore no longer frequent that temple, so it was acutally a very special occasion for us to be able to be there so close to our anniversary.

Disliked Clothing, Ornery and Stubborn Children, A Happy Occasion

This last weekend, Mike's youngest brother Rob got married. Mike's parents were smart to use the occasion as an opportunity to get a family picture (which I don't have a copy of.) All the young girls had matching dresses and everyone else was instructed to wear black, white or red. It was absolute chaos to get the pictures, but it was so fun seeing all those little children in matching clothes. As you can see, I did separate all boys and all girls picture to make it a little easier. The littlest ones (and of course Ellie) did not co-operate well. And for the record, I, (yes me, Tiffany) had to say I was proud to be a part of the group. I think it is fun for my children to have so many cousins their age. I just wish they could get together more often.

PS-The picture in the middle is of Joshua and Suede. They are cousins, 2 weeks apart in age. Suede lives across the country and I wanted so badly for a picture of them together. I tried so hard and none were good, this one is my favorite though-it shows exactly why we didn't get a good shot---they kept getting up and leaving!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Mike and Tiffany!

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary. I love the wedding picture we having hanging above our bed and I wish I could have scanned it, but it is too big. A couple of weeks before we were married I went to my Stake President's home for an interview. In the hallway was a picture of him and his wife on their wedding day. They looked young, happy, joyful and carefree. I thought about the limited information I knew about my Stake President and his marriage and family, and I realized how naive we are on our wedding day, but what a blessing that is, we don't need (or should want) to know all that will lie ahead of us. I vowed then and there to always hang a large wedding picture in a place I would see often. But, not just any picture, it had to be one I felt captured the innocence of the moment and one I could always look back on and feel the happiness and optimism of the day. Eleven years have come and gone, and with those years have come happy days, sad days, challenges and joys. And how blessed I am to be able to share those days with the man I love. Happy Anniversary-here's to 1, 111 more years . . .

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words!

Tonight as Mike was leaving, he stopped in the middle of the road to talk to a neighbor. Ellie saw that he had stopped and came racing up in her jeep to talk to him too. As I saw her going, I ran quickly into the house and grabbed the camera. This picture looks staged, but it isn't. It's just Ellie wanting to say goodbye one more time to Daddy. Ahhh-so cute!

My Dad's Proud To Be An American

(These pictures aren't the greatest, it was dark in the room and my camera battery was dying!)

On Wednesday, April 16th, MY DAD became a United States Citizen. I was fortunate to be able to attend the ceremony. There were 198 citizens from 51 countries being naturalized. Some of the countries represented were Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, China, Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Uraguay and of course . . . ENGLAND! After the oath, a few of the new citizens were given an opportunity to express their feelings. It was humbling to listen to some of their situations. A lady from China talked about how 20 years ago after hearing an American answer a question that yes they liked their US president, it made her want to live in a country where she could express her opinions freely. A man from Ethiopia stood up and expressed how glad he is to be here finally, as he spoke, I couldn't help but picture the images of starving children in Ethiopia and think how blessed he is to be here in the USA. A lady from Iraq, now an American citizen sat directly in front of me. She held a little baby girl (probably no older than 2-3 months), and my eyes filled with tears as I thought of the opportunities that she and her daughter now have; freedoms they would never have in Iraq.
And, of course I was proud of my dad. Now after living in the USA for 20 years he is an American citizen. However, what a blessing that he has always lived in a free land. His becoming an American citizen isn't as life changing as it was for some in that ceremony, but what an honor and a privilege to be a citizen of this great land.
(Guess I better get my paperwork going . . .)

My Hidden Talent

My friend Kathryn had this test on her blog, so I thought I'd give it a try. My results seemed very high compared to hers and those on her blog, so maybe I have talent . . . Can you make money being a fast typer?

81 words

Speed test

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

On Thursday, April 10th, Joshua turned 1!! What happened to my baby? Where has the last year gone? It was a bittersweet day for me. I absolutely love birthdays and was so happy it was his birthday, but I have to admit I shed a lot of tears that day too. It seems the year has gone by too quickly . . . Joshua received a lot of nice presents, but of course he didn't care much about any of them EXCEPT the remote control he was given! He loves it! Nobody is taking it away from him and trying to exchange it with a toy! Joshua had a Winnie The Pooh birthday cake (most of my cakes I am proud of, this one I wasn't and so it will not make an appearance on the blog!) It was a fun day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

Relationship Tag

How fun to be tagged, thanks Adrienne!

Where did you go on your first date? Kind of hard to say, we went from being friends for 2 years to suddenly more. But "as a couple" our first "date" was to see Independence Day at the theater (and we both hate movies, go figure!!!)

How long have you been together? Married 11 years this month. Been good friends for 14 years!

Who eats more? Depends-desserts and candy-definitely me. Main courses/meat-definitely Mike

Who said I love you first? Mike did, and I responded "sometimes I love you." It took a while before I took off the sometimes! (In fact his wedding ring is engraved with "NOT just SOMETIMES"

Who is taller? Mike

Who sings better? Hmmm let's see . . . definitely Mike-I can't hold a tune!

Who does the laundry? Me-it's my favorite chore. He irons though, because when we were first married I ironed his shirts and the next Sunday he pulled out the shirt and also the ironing board. I told him I already ironed it and he politely looked at the shirt and didn't say anything but proceeded to iron. (He does a better job than the cleaners.)

Who pays the bills? I do, but we budget and check the money together regularly.

Who mows the lawn? Are you kidding? I'm not allowed to TOUCH the lawn mower or the grass.

Who cooks dinner? Me, but Mike cooks breakfasts on the weekends

Who drives when you are together? Mike

Who is more stubborn? Mike. He has the Sowby blood! And unfortunately has passed the quality on to Ellie.

Whose parents do you see the most? Definitely mine. We see them a couple of times a week.

Who kissed who first? Mike TRIED to kiss me when on a camping trip as FRIENDS, but, I turned the other way and said, "I really like Chad." That's the night we knew something had changed . . . (Needless to say, I never saw Chad again!)

Who proposed? Mike did, and it's best we not get into the details. It is not one of my most pleasant memories from the past!

Who is more sensitive? Me

Who has more friends? I have more close friends

Who has more siblings? Mike does by one

Who wears the pants in the family? Mike-it is very hard to do landscaping/physical labor in skirts or dresses!

I tag Michelle and Taralyn.

Truly, A Blessing

Megan, Mike and I were blessed to be able to attend the Saturday morning session of General Conference, The Solemn Assembly. What a blessing it was! It is indescribable to fully express in words the spirit that was felt and what an opportunity it was to be there in person. To be in a conference hall with 21,000 people and see only 3 members standing (The First Presidency) to begin the process of sustaining our dear prophet was remarkable. As members of the different auxillaries stood at various times, I could not help but marvel at the organization and order of our church. Then as we stood as a complete membership of the church, pledging our support and sustaining vote, my testimony was again renewed of the blessing of having a prophet of God on the earth today. We are truly blessed.
It was a wonderful opportunity to share the experience with Megan, and though she was disappointed that the Primary Children didn't get to stand alone, she felt the spirit strongly and I hope it is a day she will remember for the rest of her life. Perhaps it will be; because after she wrote in her journal last night she came into my room and said, "My journal is designed for one page per day, but I just wrote three pages."